'Scrubs' Star Flies Onto The Big Screen

May 10, 2009|By Rick Bentley The Fresno Bee

In Next Day Air, Donald Faison plays a delivery man who's more interested in smoking weed than in making sure his packages get to the right addresses. That lack of interest is the trigger for this dark comedy/action film that opened Friday.

Faison, 34, knows exactly what it's like to have a bad job. Back when he was trying to launch his acting career, he was an administrative assistant in a talent agency.

"My job was to file stuff," Faison says during a telephone interview. "I was not into it, especially after getting my fourth paper cut of the day. The low point was seeing how many auditions came through the office. And how many I was right for."

Faison was only 18 when he landed a small role in the 1992 film Juice. He bounced through several small parts until 1996, when he was cast in the television version of Clueless. Since then, he's been busy.

These days he's best known as Turk, the lovable teddy bear of a father and best friend to Zach Braff's J.D., on the ABC sitcom Scrubs (which just concluded what may be its final season). The role is the exact opposite of his part in Next Day Air, and that must have meant some mental juggling as he worked on both almost simultaneously. Or did it?

Faison comes clean: It wasn't that hard.

"Next Day Air was made for $2 million. I was only there for seven days of filming," he says.

But those were seven great days. Faison loved working with the likes of veteran actors Mike Epps and Mos Def, and hungry young actors like Cisco Reyes and Yasmin Deliz.

Faison is sure the movie will surprise people.

"I think everyone expects this to be Friday, and it is completely different," he says. "The character I play is a lot darker than most people will expect." Faison pauses, then adds: "Other than the fact he relies on Mom for everything."

Projects such as Scrubs and Next Day Air make Faison generally happy with his career, even though it hasn't gone exactly as he planned.

"What I wanted to do was be Han Solo. I wanted to be the guy in romantic comedies who got the girl. But I am very lucky to still be in the industry and to have had successful shows," Faison says.

ABC has not announced whether Scrubs will be back for a ninth season, but Faison isn't just sitting around waiting. He's filmed a new series that could make the ABC fall lineup.

"I have always known that one day we would have to walk away from the show," he says. "I think most people assume this is the end. But that is what they said about the sixth and seventh seasons."